Down the TBR Hole #30

May 20, 2018

Down the TBR Hole was originally created over at Lost in a Story, and is a super fun (and simultaneously productive) tag to help you whittle away at those never-ending TBRs! (By the way, you can click on the covers to go to the Goodreads listings!)

It works like this:

  • Go to your goodreads to-read shelf.
  • Order on ascending date added.
  • Take the first 5 (or 10 or 15 or 20, if you’re feeling adventurous) books
  • Read the synopses of the books
  • Decide: keep it or should it go?
  • Keep track of where you left off so you can pick up there next week!

Current “to-read” shelf: 923 titles


BOOKS 531-535:

1

Dreamfall by Amy Plum – added 04.11.17
I’m not sure where I heard about this book, but it’s a YA scifi/horror about a handful of teens who are trapped in a nightmare world together, and it sounds super cool.
keepflower

Love and Vandalism by Laurie Boyle Crompton – added 04.11.17
I don’t even remember adding this, but it took looking at only two of my friends’ quote reviews to know that I have no interest in this. The quotes from this book are just… juvenile and awful.
removeflower

We Come Apart by Sarah Crossan & Brian Conaghan – added 04.11.17
I think I only added this because it’s a verse novel and I’m a sucker for those, but it sounds pretty mediocre and I’ve gotten a lot pickier about poetry over the last year.
removeflower

Blood on the Beach by Sarah N. Harvey & Robin Stevenson – added 04.11.17
I think this is an indie YA thriller, and the synopsis sounds so unrealistic that I’d end up ripping it to shreds. I don’t have much patience left for terribly unbelievable thrillers!
removeflower

The Leaf Reader by Emily Arsenault – added 04.11.17
This was strictly added for the cover, but doesn’t sound like anything I’d like.
removeflower


BOOKS 536-540:

2

Genuine Fraud by E. Lockhart – added 04.11.17
So, this one was tough: its average rating is only 3.38 (typically low enough to justify removing, for me), but most of my trusted reviewers gave it 4+ stars? That said, no matter how much I want to take a leap of faith on this one, the plot doesn’t interest me… at all?
removeflower

Uprooted by Naomi Novik – added 04.11.17
This one seems pretty polarizing, as my “friends’ ratings” section is almost exclusively a mix of 1-2 star reviews and 5-star reviews, with pretty much nothing in between! That said, Elise was so sweet and sent this to me last year, and it sounds REALLY interesting to me, so I’m definitely gonna have to form my own opinion on this one!
keepflower

John Ronald’s Dragons by Caroline McAlister – added 04.11.17
A kids’ picture book nonfic about Tolkien? Yes, please. ♥
keepflower

Cold Summer by Gwen Cole – added 04.12.17
When it comes to time travel, if it isn’t Doctor Who, my chances of enjoying it seem to be slim to none.
removeflower

Wicked Like a Wildfire by Lana Popović – added 04.12.17
The plot for this one caught my eye last year, but I also see that a lot of reviewers are saying the prose is really gorgeous, and I’m a sucker for that!
keepflower


BOOKS 541-545:

3

Yokai Attack!: The Japanese Monster Survival Guide by Hiroko Yoda & Matt Alt – added 04.12.17
I read the “ghost”/Yurei version of this last year and thought it was really informative and cool, but the way it was designed made it REALLY hard to read because it was tons of tiny text crammed into tiny spaces! It looks like this one is done the same way, sadly. 🙁
removeflower

The Disappearances by Emily Bain Murphy – added 04.12.17
I received this as an ARC last spring, and sadly, DNFed it twice. It sounded so cool, but bored me horribly. 🙁 I don’t think I’ll give it a 3rd try.
removeflower

Beauty of the Beast by Rachel L. Demeter – added 04.12.17
This is supposed to be a super edgy, dark adult retelling of the classic, and I need it. Now. (As in, I literally bought it on my kindle immediately after putting it on this list.)
keepflower

Guts by Chuck Palahniuk – added 04.13.17
I don’t even know why this is here, considering it’s one of the short stories in Haunted and I’ve read it there.
removeflower

The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware – added 04.13.17
I’m not sure what it is about this book, but ever since I first saw it, I’ve been drawn to it, and I don’t know why I haven’t read it yet!
keepflower


BOOKS 546-550:

4

If We Were Villains by M. L. Rio – added 04.14.17
I just bought this from BookOutlet recently and will be part of a group read for it soon!
keepflower

The Valiant by Lesley Livingston – added 04.14.17
I got this for my birthday last year and have been dying to read it ever since. Might have to move this one to my physical “top TBR” shelf so I remember to pick it up soon!
keepflower

Dear Ijeawele, or a Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie – added 04.14.17
I always hear that Chimamanda’s little essays are fantastic, so I gotta give it a try.
keepflower

Queens of Geek by Jen Wilde – added 04.14.17
Funny enough, this is actually on my Sob-a-Thon TBR for later this week!
keepflower

Not Your Sidekick by C. B. Lee – added 04.15.17
My friend Julie loves these books, so I promised to give them a try some time!
keepflower


REMOVAL PERCENTAGE THIS WEEK: 45%


DO YOU THINK I SHOULD HAVE REMOVED (OR NOT REMOVED) ANY OF THESE TITLES? IF SO, COMMENT BELOW AND TELL ME WHY!


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More about Destiny @ Howling Libraries

Just a horror aficionado/geek girl trying to juggle motherhood, reading, blogging, gaming, and everyday life.

Leave a comment
    1. Lots of Removes this week, nice job! You’re not missing out on Genuine Fraud, it honestly wasn’t very good. But Queens of Geek is awesome, so I hope you enjoy reading it for Sob-a-Thon!

      1. Thank you! I’m glad to hear it doesn’t sound like I’m missing anything by passing on Genuine Fraud, haha. I am excited for Queens of Geek, though! It sounds so cute!

    1. i have such a complicated relationship w uprooted asjhdjashdj,,,, by which i mean i haven’t read it but im excited abt it since im polish & im terrified of all the ways it could be Not Perfect since im polish…………. hope u will like it!
      also great job at removing so many books!!

      1. Ooooh that’s totally understandable, love! If you do pick it up at any time, I really hope it’s a representation that feels good and you’re able to relate to, not something bad or inaccurate. ♥ And thank you!

        1. i rly hope so too, especially when it almost never happens that a book even had a single polish character, let alone all of it is rooted in our culture 😮 and usually when there ARE polish characters, the language gets butchered so like… what’s the point

          1. Oh wow, that’s awful! 🙁 I’m sorry. I haven’t read it yet and I’m not Polish, so of course I can’t really speak for it, but I do believe someone told me that one of Naomi’s parents are from Poland? If that’s the case, hopefully that means it will be good rep! ♥

            1. oh i didn’t know that!! yeah it definitely gives me more hope :>>>

    1. That last set of books, I was like… you need to read all of them. I scrolled down prematurely to make sure they all said keep. ?

    1. oooooh, a quality post! I was not a fan of Woman In Cabin Ten because it felt waaay too much like The Girl on the Train, a book I completely hated, and because there was a scene in which the lead apologized to someone for kicking him in the balls after he tried to nonconsensually feel her up. the WORST. If We Were Villains has been my top unowned tbr book for so long, I don’t know how I’ll ever read it. I loved Genuine Fraud, and it’s super fast paced, but it’s definitely polarizing and probably fine to skip. and I hope you love Uprooted <3

      1. Oof, I haven’t read The Girl on the Train because my gut told me from day one that I WOULD NOT like that, so I hope I don’t hate Woman in Cabin 10! I don’t *think* I’ve bought it yet, so I’ll probably just get it from the library at some point, if anything. The MC having to apologize for defending herself feels super bad, so I might just pass on it altogether. And I feel you on If We Were Villains – it had been on my TBR for EEEEVEEEEER and I finally was convinced to buy it from bookoutlet recently haha. Thank you, lovely ♥♥

        1. I hope you enjoy Woman In Cabin 10 more than I did, if you choose to read that, and it’s a one-off scene — but still, not good. If We Were Villains looks terrific and I hope you love it as much as I’m hoping to!

    1. i’ve only read Genuine Fraud and Queens of Geek on this post!! both were meh for me but Queens of Geek was v easy and v diverse so i won’t get mad that you’re keeping it

    1. These are such fun posts, I love seeing what’s on your TBR because I’m super snoopy! So glad you’re keeping Dreamfall, Uprooted, and Queens of Geek because I really loved all three of them. Also so excited to see what you think of Queens of Geek since you’re reading it soon! 🙂

    1. I really liked The Woman in Cabin 10. Such a good psychological thriller, in my opinion. Can’t wait to see your review!

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